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About this project

In the light of the stars, a little tomb lay in drowned R’lyeh.One Sunday morning, the stars came almost right, and—boom!—out of the crypt came a big and very hungry cthulhupillar.

Cthulhu has eaten your childhood! We are publishing The Very Hungry Cthulhupillar, a full color, fully-illustrated book in the style of a classic piece of children’s literature—not actually intended for a young audience. A cthulhupillar eats more and more to sate his ravenous appetite … and what shall he become?

The book is already complete, but we need the cash required to get the book off to press and in stores for a Halloween release this year! Check out a few sample page spreads below.

We are initially shooting for a softcover book but have stretch goals planned for a hardcover release if we get sufficient support!

Back our project. We have a variety of options and rewards!

Share this project with your friends who might be interested!

Talk to retailers about stocking the book in stores this autumn!

Signal Fire Studios is a small-press publishing company that combines proven experience, exciting new talent, and 21st century ideas. The Internet and social media are a big part of our marketing and social outreach, and we’ve come to realize crowdfunding is a fantastic tool to allow our friends, fans, and those who discover and like our ideas to help us produce exciting products and build our business.

Ben Mund is a lifelong Lovecraft fan, digital designer, and creator of projects such as the Lovecraftian Building An Elder God and the licensed Serenity Atlas of the ’Verse: Volume One. Jamie Chambers is an award-winning, best-selling tabletop game designer and writer with more than twelve years of publishing experience. He founded Signal Fire Studios to publish both his own projects and those of the most talented writers and artists he knows.

Our products will be sold through Publisher Services Inc. (PSI), a sales & fulfillment partner located just down the road from the Signal Fire offices, that represents some of the best-known brands in the industry and sells through multiple sales channels.

The book is almost done! Ben will review his work and make necessary changes and additions, Jamie will do the pre-press work and generate the PDFs. Every backer at the $5 level of higher will get access to it shortly after the project is funded. It won't take much more work to send the book off to press!

You’ll have our written thanks in the final version of the book for even a $1 reward. For $5 you’ll also get the eBook (PDF) version of the book shortly after the project is funded. For $25 you’ll get all of the above and a final, printed copy of the book. Look over the right to see the possible reward levels, including the chance to be an Associate Publisher with your name listed on the title page!

We've hit our goal and soared past it. Ben and I will continue to add exciting stretch goals as the project continues!

$8,000 - HARDCOVER EDITION - UNLOCKED!The entire book will be printed in hardcover, meaning that all backers at the $25 level and higher will be benefit from an "upgraded" edition.

$12,000 - BONUS STORY - UNLOCKED!We will add a bonus story, adapting a Lovecraftian tale into a story written by Jamie Chambers and illustrated by Ben Mund!

$14,000 - ACTIVITY PAGE - UNLOCKED!The last page of the book will be an activity sheet in the style of those found in children's menus at your favorite family restaurant—with only mild risk of insanity.

$18,000 - Illustrated PoemA bonus, fully-illustrated eBook/PDF will be created to marry Lovecraftian themes to quirky children's poetry written by Lester Smith and illustrated by Ben Mund.

Video Credits

Book text and art by Ben Mund. Narration by Prentice Osborne. Background music by klankbeeld, used under the terms of the Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution License.

Risks and challenges

The good news is product in the last stages and we already have quotes from printers we have worked with in the past, so once the funding is in we can make a final decision and go to press right away. We designed the rewards to be those we could produce quickly without too many opportunities for things to go wrong.

Nothing is without risk of delay or mishap, however. Though unlikely, there could be printing delays or some mistake in the binding that might slow things down. We will work with our fulfillment partner to turn around all outgoing rewards as soon as possible!

FAQ

I've communicated with all the backers both with an update and by email, but in case there is confusion I'll sum it up here: All backers who were due to receive this book from the previous Kickstarter will not only get the final book, but a pre-release "proof" edition signed by Ben Mund AND a Cthulhupillar "head" card to go with their game. You don't have to back this project to receive those rewards. However, if you want to support this new Kickstarter, please contact me and we'll figure out your rewards!

Some people have asked for extra copies of the books for gifts. Awesome! Just increase your pledge level by $18 for each extra copy and don't worry, we'll cover any extra shipping. Limit 3 extra copies through the Kickstarter (so total of 4). We'll check the total number of books you're expecting as part of the backer survey. If you miss the end of the Kickstarter, no worries. Just message me privately here so it identifies you as a backer and we'll make payment arrangements for the extra books separately.

The $5 reward level gets you only the initial book in PDF form. The $10 level gets you all the digital files associated with the project. Anyone at the $25 level or higher gets all of the digital files as well as part of the package.

Pledge $5 or more

Monday Cultist – You are recognized as a contributor, plus you receive the eBook (PDF) version of the book.

Estimated delivery:Aug 2013

You selected

Pledge $10 or more

31 backers

Electronic Horror - This is a full digital bundle of all PDF material related to the project -- including The Very Hungry Cthulhupillar, the bonus story, and the Lovecraftian ABCs.

Estimated delivery:Aug 2013

You selected

Pledge $25 or more

309 backers

Tuesday Antiquarian – You are recognized as a contributor, you receive the eBook (PDF) version of the book, and we will mail you a copy of the book when it’s back from press!

Estimated delivery:Sep 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $50 or more

72 backers

Wednesday Cases of Charles Dexter Ward - You are recognized as a contributor, you receive the eBook (PDF) version of the book, early access to the full video/audio version, you get a final copy of the book, and get a Very Hungry Cthulhupillar t-shirt!

Estimated delivery:Sep 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $65 or more

4 backers

(Retail Cultmaster) – REWARD AVAILABLE TO RETAIL STORES ONLY! Own a store? Get six (6) copies of the book when it arrives from the printer and the digital PDF as a preview. …………………………………………… Note: We will be in touch after we are fully funded to confirm your store’s status and location.

Estimated delivery:Sep 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $100 or more

23 backers
Limited (7 left of 30)

Thursday Disturbing Statues - You are recognized as a contributor, you receive the eBook (PDF) version of the book, get a copy of the Building An Elder God card game with a special Cthulhupillar "head" card, early access to the full video/audio version, you get two final copies of the book, and receive a CUSTOM Very Hungry Cthulhupillar t-shirt with your name listed as the author.

Estimated delivery:Sep 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $250 or more

6 backers
Limited (9 left of 15)

Friday Eric Zhan's Music - You are recognized as an Associate Publisher on the title page of the book, get a unique piece of artwork by Ben Mund featuring your likeness, you receive the eBook (PDF) version of the book, early access to the full video/audio version, you get five final copies of the book, you get a copy of the Building An Elder God card game with a special Cthulhupillar "head" card, and receive a CUSTOM Very Hungry Cthulhupillar t-shirt with your name listed as the author.

Estimated delivery:Sep 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

Funding period

May 6, 2013 - Jun 2, 2013
(26 days)

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